Welome, and thank you for visiting The Providence Dog Park Association's web site!
WHERE IS THE GANO ST. DOG PARK? Click the "Gano St. Dog Park" button on the left of your screen for directions.
IMPORTANT INFO ON PROVIDENCE'S DOGS IN PARKS POLICY!
NOTES FROM THE FEB 25TH MEETING AT NICKERSON HOUSE
The following notes (specifically Prov. Parks Dept. Responses) are in no way the final response to suggestions, they are merely what Bob McMahon (the Parks Superintendent) stated in the meeting.
Locations for Possible off leash parks:
- 2 locations in Roger Williams Park
- Neutaconkanut Park, Plainfield St., Silver Lake
- North Burial Ground, Branch Ave.
- Blackstone Park (rotate area by season)
Suggested Parks for on/off leash Dog Park:
- Lippitt Memorial Park, Blackstone Blvd.& Hope St.
---> Prov. Parks Dept. Response: Possible on leash area.
- Ninth Street, Summit Park
---> Prov.Parks Dept. Response: No dogs would be allowed, too many kids.
- Billy Taylor Park, Camp St & Cypress St.,
---> Prov. Parks Dept. Response: Possible off leash site.
**Side Note: http://www.citywidegreen.org is a great informational website about green spaces and parks in Providence. Park Rule Enforcement, Licensing Dogs, and Continued Park Upkeep:
- Providence Parks Dept: Once a new "dogs in parks policy" is created, park rangers will be on a rotating schedule monitoring the parks.
Suggestions:
- Make it easier to get a dog licensed (i.e. move licensing office to a central location: City Hall).
- Enforce the licensing policy more stringently in hopes of generating more funding for the upkeep of the parks.
- Research/Model after existing park membership programs, specifically The Trustees of Reservations, http://www.thetrustees.org , a member group for Mass. Parks. Require dogs to wear a tag in order to use park. This system would help to generate funding for park upkeep. Make tags easily accessible: sell at Petco, Veterinarian offices or City Hall. Help to encourage self accountability.
General Requests for Dog Park Improvements:
1. Covers for trash barrels.
2. Benches at Dexter Street DP.
3. Water spigot.
--->Prov. Parks Dept. Response: costs $12-15K to install a H2O system.
**Gano Street: A shade structure will be installed “sometime in May”**
What’s Next:
- Two more community meetings will be held in the upcoming weeks, one in Fox Point and one in Mt. Pleasant/North End/Elmhurst area.
- In the upcoming months, a draft policy will be created and presented to the Parks Commission with a public hearing/meeting to follow.
Additional neighborhood meetings will be scheduled in other areas of the city. For further information, contact Superintendent of Parks, Robert McMahon by email (rmacmahon@providenceri.com) or by phone at 785-9450, ext 200.
News from the January 13th meeting: A public meeting hosted by the Providence Parks Department was held at the Lincoln School, to address the issue of dogs in parks, and specifically, the policy for dogs in Blackstone Park. This meeting was the first in a series (to be held throughout the city in the upcoming months) to address the growing concern regarding dogs in public parks. These meetings will serve as a forum to voice ideas and suggestions which, in turn, will be used by the Parks Dept. to shape policy.
The meeting lasted for an hour and a half with the first ten to fifteen minutes dedicated to Bob McMahon, who gave a brief overview of the problem of park degradation in Blackstone Park. According to Supt. McMahon, the degradation is caused by leashed and unleashed dogs. He also announced plans to create two new off leash dog parks (one mostly likely located in Roger Williams Park) in the next twelve to eighteen months. He spoke of a need to solidify on and off leash rules and regulations for the 100+ parks in the Providence area. Both Beth Charlebois, Neighborhood Parks Service Director and Deputy Parks Director, Francisco Ramirez, attended the meeting.
The floor was then opened to anyone wishing to express their thoughts about the state of affairs when it comes to dogs in parks, again specifically within Blackstone Park. The passionate ideas and thoughts ranged from the right of tax-paying dog owners to be able to run their dogs in a safe, healthy environment to the desire to protect the wooded areas of Blackstone Park (these two ideas not being mutually exclusive). The most thoughtful comments, I believe, came from Steve Hamburg, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Brown University. He called for more research to be done in Blackstone Park to fully understand the true reasons for park degradation. He urged the Parks Dept. to hold discussions and shape policies based on collected and studied data as opposed to naming the "perceived"/assumed culprits: dogs.
There were two main themes that seemed to emerge from this meeting. First, there is a need for clearly defined rules for Blackstone Park that would both satisfy (to the best of its ability) dog-owners and non dog-owners as well as keeping in mind the conservancy of the park. The second, and more important theme, was the strong and palpable feeling that the City and Parks Department are not doing enough for dog owners. Again, folks, there are only TWO official off leash parks in the entire city (five in the state) out of 100+ parks!
If you want to do something about the current situation of dogs in parks here are a couple things you can do:
1. Send an email to the Superintendent of the Parks Dept., Bob McMahon and tell him how you feel about this issue (rmacmahon@providenceri.com)
2. Join the Facebook group "Providence Dog Park People". I just joined and I think it is an easy way to have a discussion, organize ideas and hopefully come together to create a unified voice. You can also email me, Andrea, directly at
andrea@providencedogparkassociation.org
3. Find out who your City Council person is and let him/her know how you feel about allowing dogs in City parks.
I am primarily responsible for Providence Dog Park Association's affairs (and I am a college student), so any sort of help, suggestions or ideas would be tremendously appreciated. I will update you (on this website) as to when the next community meeting will be held.
Stay warm,
Andrea
SUMMER IS COMING! WE WILL NEED VOLUNTEERS TO WATER OUR YOUNG TREES! If you are a regular at the park during the summer months, consider "adopting" one of our new trees. They need to be watered on a regular basis throughout the summer. Click the "CONTACT" button on the left of your screen and let us know if you are able to help!
ATTENTION GUARDIANS OF SMALL DOGS: THE GANO ST. DOG PARK HAS A SEPARATE PLAY AREA FOR SMALL DOGS! You'll find it on the south side of the basketball courts, and the entrance is on the west side of the enclosure. It has the same double gated entry as the existing park. Please respect the size restriction. Larger dogs are not allowed to play in the enclosed area for small dogs!
WANT TO HELP OUT? The PDPA is an all volunteer group and we can always use help. If you can help us financially, all donations are tax deductible. If you can't help financially, there are lots of other things you can help with. Got a dog? Use the park? Help out! It's fun and it's FREE! Click on the "HOW YOU CAN HELP" button on the left of your screen for details.
IMPORTANT
The Providence Dog Park Association would like to acknowledge the following: THANKS to our partners at Community Canines for Companionship and Care (a 501[c]3).***** Todd & Beej- thank you for your hard work and those great benches! ***** Thanks to Sonia for the chain link fencing donation!!
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